software that allows people to work together more easily, and allows different software and databases to integrate with each other more easily. Examples include payment processing systems and shipping calculators. These three technologies came together in the late 1990s to create a “platform for global collaboration.” Once these technologies were in place, they continued to evolve. Friedman also points out a couple more technologies that have contributed to the flat-world platform, namely the open source movement discussed in Chapter 10 and the advent of mobile technologies. Economist Pankaj Ghemawat authored the book World 3.0 in 2011 in an attempt to provide a more moderate and research- based analysis of globalization. While Friedman talked with individuals and produced an anecdotally-based book, Ghemawat’s approach was to research economic data, then draw conclusions about globalization. His research found the following: • Mailed letters that cross international borders = 1% • Telephone calling minutes that are international = 2% • Internet traffic that is routed across international borders = 18% • National, as opposed to international, TV news sources = 95% • First generation immigrants as portion of world’s population = 3% • People who at some time in their lives will cross an international border = 10% • Global exports as portion of the value of all goods produced in the world = 20% 4 According to Ghemawat, while the Internet has had an impact on Information Systems for Business and Beyond (2019) pg. 237
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